Chapter 28
I got into Han Su-jin’s car and she set the navigation to a nearby temple at random, then we set off.
Only a few minutes after departure, Han Su-jin suddenly spoke.
“Um, Current… before we go to the temple, there’s somewhere I suddenly want to stop by. Is that okay?”
“That’s fine.”
“Thank you.”
Han Su-jin pulled over by the roadside and suddenly slipped into a flower shop.
Without hesitation, she pointed at a bundle of red roses and a bundle of baby’s breath.
“Please make it with these two.”
The florist took out a bundle of deep crimson roses from the cold display case and wrapped them neatly with a fancy ribbon.
“Here you go. The weather suddenly got colder, so rose prices went up a bit, but they’re actually fresher and better than usual. Pretty, right?”
Han Su-jin accepted the bouquet and inhaled its scent.
“It smells nice. It’s beautiful.”
Her expression looked noticeably happier.
“Thirty-four roses, right?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
After counting the roses, Han Su-jin smiled brightly.
She left the flower shop holding only the bouquet.
The next stop was a bakery.
Han Su-jin chose a cheesecake and had it packed.
“By the way, where are we going? Is it someone’s birthday?”
“You’ll carry this for me, right?”
Once she got into the car, Han Su-jin held out the cake box instead of answering.
I didn’t ask further and took both the cake box and the bouquet.
Where we arrived together was a columbarium in Bundang.
The weather was clear, but colder than usual, so even though it was Saturday, there weren’t many visitors.
Han Su-jin stopped in front of one of the memorial niches.
In the photo was a woman in her mid-thirties with short hair. Her calm aura resembled Han Su-jin quite a bit.
The deceased’s name was written as “Oh Jin-ah.”
In a smaller photo placed below, there was a girl who looked about seven or eight years old.
Big teary eyes, a sorrowful expression.
It was obvious at a glance that the girl was Han Su-jin.
Han Su-jin placed the flowers and cake in front of the niche.
“Mom. I’m here.”
So Han Su-jin lost her mother at a young age.
It reminded me of my younger sister Yeon-hee, who lost her father when she was five.
Han Su-jin continued firmly.
“Recently, something bad happened, but fortunately someone looked into it and helped me.”
She turned her head and glanced at me.
I stood awkwardly behind her with my hands clasped.
“You know the work Mom used to do, right? Reiki healing. I had never actually seen anything like it, so honestly I thought it was all fake. But apparently, that person can actually see those things. I’m sorry for calling Mom a liar when I was young.”
As she spoke, her voice trembled, as if old memories were surfacing.
“Back then, even my older brother and sister said Mom was lying, so I really thought it was true. I’m sorry, Mom. I should’ve believed you…”
Han Su-jin went silent for a moment.
Standing behind her, I couldn’t see her expression.
But her shoulders were trembling slightly, as if she was crying quietly.
“Current. Look at that.”
The red eyes nudged me urgently.
When I looked, something unbelievable was happening.
A female ghost in her mid-thirties had appeared and placed both hands on Han Su-jin’s head.
The woman with short hair and a faint smile looked exactly like the woman in the photo.
It was clearly Han Su-jin’s mother, Oh Jin-ah.
White, pure light flowed from Oh Jin-ah’s hands.
The shimmering silver energy poured over Han Su-jin from head to toe like a shower of light.
The crimson aura surrounding Han Su-jin was washed away by the white light and flowed down to the ground.
Then, the rainbow-colored aura that originally belonged to Han Su-jin began to shine vividly again.
Oh Jin-ah gently stroked her daughter’s head with an expression full of love.
A look that said she cherished her child beyond words.
It was clear how deeply she loved and cared for Han Su-jin.
“I should’ve come sooner. I’m sorry for not visiting in so long, Mom. You’ll forgive me, right?”
The ghost of Oh Jin-ah smiled brightly and nodded.
“Thank you, Mom.”
Han Su-jin spoke through a congested nose, but her voice sounded much lighter.
Even though she couldn’t physically see her mother, her reaction showed she was extremely sensitive—able to feel things others could not.
Han Su-jin turned to me with a relieved expression.
“Let’s go. We’re a bit late, but we should eat lunch.”
“Sure. What should we eat?”
“There’s a really good kalguksu place a little way from here. Want to go?”
“Sounds good.”
Feeling much lighter in body and mind, Han Su-jin walked ahead energetically.
I quickly called out the red eyes.
‘Go talk to Oh Jin-ah.’
-What about?
‘The background of Han Su-jin’s family.’
-Got it.
As I walked out with Han Su-jin, I heard the red eyes calling out behind me.
“Um, Ms. Oh Jin-ah? Can we talk for a moment?”
We drove past the bus stop and a little further down until we reached a shabby kalguksu restaurant.
Han Su-jin and I went inside and ordered two bowls of kalguksu.
“Whenever I came to visit Mom, I always came here and ate kalguksu alone. So if I don’t eat it, I feel kind of disappointed.”
Han Su-jin smiled brightly.
Now that her aura had returned, she seemed to glow.
“It’s cold anyway. Nothing beats hot kalguksu in weather like this.”
I couldn’t help smiling as well.
Soon, the food arrived—and it was truly soul-warming.
The broth, richly infused with clams, squid, and various seafood, was deeply savory.
The thin, tender noodles felt almost like they carried goodwill itself.
After finishing every drop of the broth, Han Su-jin spoke.
“When I was young, I always felt like I was abandoned in this world. Like no matter how hard I struggled, no one cared.”
“You have family though, right?”
“I do… family…”
She gave a bitter smile that didn’t quite suit her.
“But can you really call people family if they want you to fail?”
A brief shadow of loneliness crossed her face.
Until now, I had never doubted that my mother and Yeon-hee would always be on my side.
But Han Su-jin seemed to have lived a life far more painful than mine.
I couldn’t offer shallow comfort.
“Actually, my mother was my father’s second wife. My older brother and sister were from his first wife.”
Han Su-jin began speaking without being asked.
“My mom was actually adopted to the U.S. when she was a baby. Her adoptive parents weren’t very good people. She always longed for family love and hoped that if she came back to Korea, she might find her real family.”
She took a sip of water.
“After returning to Korea, she started Reiki healing. By chance, she ended up treating my father. He had recently lost his wife and wasn’t in good health, so he received energy healing. My father said it was love at first sight. And my mother liked his gentle nature too. He proposed, and since she never found her biological family, she decided to accept and raise his previous wife’s children with love.”
She gave a faint, bitter smile.
“My brother and I were only eleven years apart in age. My brother and sister didn’t really get along with my mother. Maybe it was because they couldn’t adjust to life in Korea, but my mother slowly fell into depression. Even after she had me, nothing really changed. In the end, she passed away when I was eight.”
Han Su-jin frowned with a self-mocking smile.
“But I was stupid. I trusted my sister more than my mom. My sister was so cool… everything she did, the way she moved, the clothes she wore, her toys… everything seemed amazing. So I followed her and also treated my mom like she was a liar.”
A single tear dropped from her eye.
“Only after she died did I realize… the one who truly loved me was my mom. I’m such an idiot, right?”
Then the tears came pouring down.
“Anyone can make mistakes. Especially when they’re young.”
I handed her a few tissues.
“Ah… I’m really not normally like this… I’m not someone who shows emotions like this. But somehow I keep showing this side to you, Yoo Current.”
“It’s not strange.”
“Then now…”
She blew her nose loudly and continued,
“Should we go to the temple?”
“I don’t think we need to.”
“Why?”
For a brief moment, I hesitated—whether to tell her what I had just seen or not.
“Just now, your mother came and washed away all the bad energy around you.”
“…sob.”
She tried hard to hold back her tears, biting her lip.
“Ah…”
She fanned her face as if trying to dry her tears.
Then she suddenly looked at me.
“What did my mom look like to you?”
“She looked peaceful. Just like in the photo.”
“So she’s in a good place, right?”
“Yes. I think so.”
Han Su-jin looked up at the ceiling, eyes full of tears.
“Of course. My mom was a really kind person. Even when my sister and brother treated her badly, she never once got angry. If someone like my mom doesn’t go to heaven, then no one does.”
“That’s true.”
When I nodded, she smiled tightly.
“Wow… you really have a strange charm, Yoo Current.”
“Forget it. Let’s head back.”
“Okay.”
So we left the kalguksu shop and returned to the officetel.
It was still early spring, so the days were short.
By now, dusk had already fallen.
When we got off the elevator, the lust spirit in the hallway noticed Han Su-jin.
As if prepared, it quickly began taking off its clothes.
Clack, clack, clack.
Han Su-jin walked down the long corridor toward it.
The lust spirit stripped completely naked, even throwing away its underwear, and started swinging a whip while dancing its hips.
Ah, my eyes…
It really came prepared. A surprisingly diligent ghost.
But Han Su-jin ignored it as always and calmly walked past it to her door.
Standing in front of Room 903, she held out her hand to me.
“Thank you so much today, Yoo Current.”
I smiled and shook her hand.
A clear, pure energy flowed into me through her hand.
A chillingly pure sensation I had never felt before jolted my mind awake.
It felt like drinking several high-caffeine drinks at once.
But healthier. And more refreshing.
It was like jumping naked into the pure, icy waters of the Arctic.
“I’ll see you next time.”
She waved with a smile and went inside.
For a long time, I just stared at my hand, trying to understand what had just happened.
“What are you doing?”
Only when the red eyes shouted behind me did I come back to my senses.
‘Did you find out anything?’
-It’s insane. Let’s go inside first.
I went into the room with the red eyes.
